Photo Credit: Liam Sment
While the college basketball offseason has started in totality much sooner than expected due to the coronavirus pandemic, that hasn't stopped the sport's recruiting or business from stopping including the scheduling of opponents for the 2020-21 season. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports is reporting that Virginia Tech has an intriguing opponent scheduled for next season.
Source: Virginia Tech will host Marshall as part of its 20-21 non-conference schedule.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 28, 2020
The Hokies will face Marshall as one of their non-conference opponents during the 2020-21 season. This will be the first time that Virginia Tech has faced Marshall since the 2006-07 season when the Hokies lost at Marshall 59-58.
Marshall has a slight edge in the all-time series as the Hokies are 9-10 against the Thundering Herd with this being a chance to even the series.
While this may not seem like a big addition to the schedule, it's a sign that Virginia Tech is committed to improving the depth of their non-conference schedule. That may not seem too important but the lack of solid mid-major games has been a big reason why VT's non-conference strength of schedule has been among the worst for major conference programs in recent years.
This also adds a non-power conference opponent that fans will actually recognize and may have some interest in seeing play out.
The addition of Marshall is the latest continuation of athletic competition between the two programs with a football home-and-home coming soon for Marshall after the Thundering Herd joined VT's football schedule midseason during the 2018 season, helping keep Tech's bowl streak alive. Given all this, it's pretty clear that the Virginia Tech and Marshall athletic departments have a strong, working relationship.
